


Family

by zima_in_winterland



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Becky (fem!Bucky) is a little shit, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Christmas Tree, Christmas songs, F/F, Family Fluff, Female Bucky Barnes, Female Steve Rogers, Fluff, Loki comes as a surprise at the end, Loki is a Good Bro, Multi, Steph (fem!Steve) cooks, Thor is a good-hearted angel, Tony Stark is an Asshole, Tony ruins the mood, but it's really sweet you'll see, though they're not quite a family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:02:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5555264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zima_in_winterland/pseuds/zima_in_winterland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas, even at the Avengers', so they're preparing for it and then they assemble for a big-ass dinner at Steph and Becky's (fem!Steve and Bucky) place, then come the presents.<br/>Oh, and I had to use these words while writing it: lofty, parsley, camel fur, heart warm (which are bold in the text).<br/>Merry Christmas!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

_Jingle bells, jingle bells_  
_Jingle all the way_  
_Oh, what fun it is to ride_  
_In a one horse open sleigh_

A short brown-haired angel was turning around the floor; she kept her arms away from her, balancing herself on her toes. She lifted her leg gracefully, and sung further:

_Jingle bells, jingle bells_  
_Jingle all the way_  
_Oh, what fun it is to ride_  
_In a one horse open sleigh_

However, another angle with an apron threatened her with an egg beater.

“Turn down this rubbish, and help me, will you?” Steph said through the jingling of the stereo. Maybe she wasn't that angelic. When she continued, she wasn't angelic at all, “Jamie Rebecca Barnes, come here now!” she raised her voice.

The said one, accompanied by a cheeky smile - which showed her teeth - put her leg down, but with still flexible movements danced through the small kitchen to the blonde, who was a bit taller and much grumpier than her. Her wavy blonde hair, which was beautiful even without straightening it, her figure was like a dream, only his furrowed brows worsened the overall picture. But maybe being angry only made her even more beautiful?

“Indeed, Stephanie Grace Rogers,” she looked at her with her gray eyes narrowed, then she dipped her finger in the cream and tasted it. Her hemming made it obvious that the cream isn't poisoned. “This will be the meringue, right?”

Steph only rolled her eyes.

“No, I will make a cake out of it. What do you think?”

“Because you make so many cakes, that I can't even keep counting.” So she started listing them, using her girlfriend’s **lofty** style, “The gingerbread needs to be ready on time, so while they are drying I can bake the roll cake, then during its baking I make the meringue and I still need to do the icing...”  
Steph silenced Becky (she doesn't like when they call her Jamie) with a whisk, and then leaned against the countertops sighing.

“Am I really like this?” she looked up at her with her sky blue eyes, her smile was apologizing.

“Christmas definitely became your obsession,” Becky nodded, and leaning on the countertop both side of the blonde, she looked up into her face. “You only forget that the holiday isn't all about how many cakes you make. Moreover if you continue like this, we will drown in them, and then where's the main dish? Seriously is there any normal food at home? I swear I saw **parsley** somewhere but anything else...”

Steph chuckled. “Tony and the others will bring food, so get ready that we will only eat cake after them.”

“That's the reason the cookie stomach exist” the brown haired smiled. “Because there's always space for sweets in it. So? Can I get a honey kiss? A foamy kiss? A candy...”

She then got a bite covered in chocolate sauce, and she started purring satisfied on the parting lips of her partner.

“That's all?” she mumbled disappointedly, as the other cautiously sent her away from between the oven and the sink.

“That's all for now,” Steph nodded, but there was a slight smile in the corner of her lips, as she took another bowl and eggs. “If you help me henceforth, you can get more.”

The muffins were ready faster as two baked them.

 ❆ ❆ ❆

When Tony and the others arrived - and here we must mention that they didn't arrive at once, but the more disconnectedly the guests arrived the more it seemed like only more and more are coming -, so when Tony arrived first, with a big bag, it was snowing heavily with high wind, and it was questionable whether the man opened the door or the wind? In any case the wind blew in a smaller amount of snow through the door, and the rest came in the hall on Tony's coat or thick boots.

“What the f... I'm not swearing! For the penis of God, what a rough weather we have. Take the food into the kitchen - careful, it falls -, and you take me out of my coat, because I think it froze on me.”

Since Steph has already gone to the kitchen, Becky took off the man’s coat; she took off the tasseled cap (who wears something like that nowadays?) of his disheveled hair, and after she unrolled his thick scarf from his face and Rudolph-nose, she looked at him from head to toe.

“You don't wear a Christmas sweater,” she said disapprovingly, as she hooked up the already dripping clothes in the hall. Let them drip, it already doesn't matter. “You're a scourge.”

“This sweater is **camel fur** , so...”

“Camel purr?” Becky grimaced, and Tony, who was at the middle of taking his boots down, stopped.

“Camel _fur_.” He made sure he emphasize the end properly, kicked away his slushy boots, which leant against each other in the corner. He went after Steph with soaked socks. “Hello, big girl,” he greeted her cheerfully, with still flushed cheeks, because of the cold, as she patted her back, who, being embarrassing for him, was taller than him. “What did you make for us?” He looked into the larder.

“Only after dinner!” Becky shouted the learnt line from the hall.

Tony rolled his eyes.

“Fine, then I ask otherwise: what did you make for us to eat after dinner?”

“You'll see after dinner,” Becky whispered directly into his ear, which made him jump.

“Holly sweet _whatthefuck_.” He turned to her to stick his tongue. “Kick the bucket, Barnes. Why are you like a ninja?”

“Ex-assassin,” she flashed an alluring smile at him, which could be equal to a knife in your side, if she wanted. And she wanted.

“Seriously, go and fuck yourself...” Tony grumbled, but he didn't have more comment.

“Language...” they heard Steph's murmuring, and neither of them could stand it without smiling - which of course ended in laughing.

 ❆ ❆ ❆

Finally, as the people arrived in different times, and the snowstorm was beating the windows harder and harder, it looked like it's snowing in the house, because meters of snow barrier flooded the hall at every time someone opened the door. By the time the last guest arrived, the last dripping coat was hanged on the last hanger - no space was left on the rack, and only three hangers was free.

So they were all in the small house: Steph was bustling and packing everything together in the kitchen, because she collected the food everyone brought; Becky was sliding on the floor in thick socks, pretending to be skating; Tony, the little asshole sitting on a chair sometimes made Becky trip; Sam was biting a toothpick, when he wasn't stealing the cookies; Natasha shared a chair with Clint, and he was sitting on her lap; on a chair, taken from the kitchen, Thor was sitting; and in the corner space was left for Bruce, too, behind Tony, with a big mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Steph was making more for the others, and it seemed like nobody was willing to help her, but it doesn't seemed to bother her much, like when only Becky ignored her.

“The question is,” Tony started philosophizing, as he leant against Bruce, and as if it made the other blush, “since the gifting is done more or less - i.e. we tossed everything under the tree -, should we open the gifts tomorrow morning, when not everybody will be here, because it’s impossible for so many people to sleep here, or should we open them directly after dinner, and then we can tease each other now with the embarrassing gifts?” he looked around grinning. “Voting?”

“It'll be what you want anyway, so after the last bite of cake, we'll tear the wrapping paper, okay?” Natasha looked at him, and this time she held out her leg to Becky, who showed them a 10 second balancing on tiptoe, but she still fell - after Tony pushed her back a little.

 ❆ ❆ ❆

They started dinner with Natasha's salad (they made it together with Clint), and Tony's fried fish was also good. Sam brought sauce (sauce for anything, and it really was for everything.) Everybody thanked Bruce for surprising them with heavenly fruitcake and mulled wine, the highlight of the meal was Thor's fried duck - which was made by Jane, but who cares? It was ended with the cakes made by the two hosts, and it became true that everybody has a cookie stomach; it looked liked Thor had more than one, because they quickly ran out of gingerbread.

The mulled wine also ran out, to everybody's sadness, but the mugs were always refilled with hot chocolate, of what they had enough. In the background Christmas songs were playing on the stereo for a while now.

“Time to unwrap the gifts!” Natasha decided, when everyone was petting their full stomach leant back. Tony jumped immediately, and with the two ex-assassins following him, they ran towards the Christmas tree. The pink artificial Christmas tree was sitting in the corner of the room, in the verge of collapse because of the lights and garlands; maybe to cover its original neon colour. On the top of it a little angel was sitting, because they didn't have a star, and the shield would have been too big. And Steph wouldn't allow it.

The sea of presents was spread around half of the living room, the leading Tony threw himself into the gift pile, carefully not to break anything.

The others arrived slowly, and decided to wait until those three finish their race who can unwrap more presents, not caring about it was for them or not. The boxes and bags freed from their wrapping paper got to their owners, and they all took out their own gifts.

Tony was the first, who started laughing on one of the stuffs, but not on his own: he stared at Steph, who pulled out something that looked like tangled shoelaces.

“Anyone else gave her a thong?” he giggled, while Natasha and Sam looked at each other.

“You too?” they asked unison, and then they laughed.

Meanwhile Steph pushed aside those kinds of things and continued to unwrap the presents without taking notice of the previous things. In the next box was a necklace, which looked like gold, with blue stones.  
“Thor, this...” she gasped, as she looked up their smiling friend. “You didn't have to, seriously. But it's beautiful.” She looked back at the necklace, then back at Thor. “It's beautiful, you're wonderful!” And for the surprise of the god she hugged him, and he shyly patted her shoulder.

“Do not mention it, it's nothing,” he mumbled, but his face was shining.

“I got one too!” Natasha showed happily a pair of earrings.

As it turned out, all of them got jewelry from Thor, and despite being old-fashioned in earthy terms, they looked good on their wearer. Tony looked the pendant hanging in his neck delighted, which was tied on a cord, just like Bruce’s, Clint and Sam got a bracelet (they said Thor perfectly guessed their tastes.) With pleasure Becky put the ring, which had many small details, on one of her metal fingers, it fit like a glove, and it followed as she bent her finger, just like it was liquid.

Tony’s gifts were mostly watches, or some kind of technical goods. Clint got a new electronic shaver, Thor a flashlight with many batteries. Bruce got the watch and Natasha a pocket knife with her initials on it. Sam got an alarm clock (he complained, that his old one wasn't working well, and he was always late, when he went running with Steph.) Steph and Becky shared the underwear (go and die Tony), and they also got a toaster for the delight of their new house (this is usually given as a wedding gift).

They were almost starting to talk about Clint's gifts, when the door slammed, and the wind blew a person into the house, with a container of snow. The blowing was quickly shut by the closing of the door, then silence fell on the hall. The newly arrived cleared his throat, and carefully stepping over an indoor puddle he stepped out to the light coming from the living room.

“Loki?” Thor looked at him with rounded eyes. The others stared at him in astonished or questioning silence; nobody was afraid of him, because a)if the enemy is so polite, that he doesn't break through the door, then there's nothing to be afraid, b) he isn't armored, c) it's Christmas Eve, d) they have a Hulk. But point d) is irrelevant, and it would be really noisy.

“Thor,” Loki greeted him with a nod. At first look his hair touched his shoulder blades, and maybe his face was more hollow, well that much that could be seen at the light of cheap lights, but that aside it was him: leaving behind his black and green leather clothing and golden weapons, he wore a black buttoned coat with a scarf. Maybe his hand was ready to fight, or to defend: his fingers a bit bent, but his posture was straight and calm.

Before anybody could say a word, it was Thor who moved, but so fast that he would attack Loki - probably Loki felt the same, because he backed a step -, but then he just stood there, and Thor was hugging him tightly.

Everybody watched them motionless, and it bothered Loki a little that in this angle they could see him over Thor's shoulders. And that they saw him in a situation like this. Still he smiled slightly.

“I heard that this is the holiday of family, and well...” His voice broke a bit. “I can't go home, but I knew you are here.”

“Oh, you fool...” Thor murmured into his shoulders on a deep voice, and it was to be feared that he would cry.

“Christmas is tomorrow,” Tony noted but nobody laughed at it now. “Well another mug of hot chocolate could be used,” he added.

Meanwhile the stereo cheerfully sang:

_I just want you for my own_  
_More than you could ever know_  
_Make my wish come true_  
_All I want for Christmas is you_

The **heart warm** , heartwarming feeling spread in everybody, which is a normal feeling during this event in principle, yet they all only understood what it means to celebrate ‘with family’ now. 


End file.
